The brewer's intention seems to have been met in all aspects here, a lovely extreme beer we have here. Obviously mint and chocolate go, but to put both in a beer and have it this balanced is quite a feat.

The beer pours a very dark brown to black color with a tan head. The aroma is as expected. I get a lot of wintergreen mint character as well as a lot of roasted malt and chocolate. The flavor is more of the same. The mint character melds well with the chocolate, tasting a bit like Thin Mints. The mint provides a cooling quality that I find interesting. There is also some roasted malt, but this is all about the chocolate and mint. The alcohol is very well hidden. Medium to thick mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Dark black in color and light does not penetrate it. Minimal head on the pour, but the remaining foam does longer. Aroma is pretty weak. Maybe just a bit of mint. This one definitely more minty than it is chocolaty. The mint is more in the forefront and is almost a bit of a burn on the tastebuds on the way down. The chocolate flavor quickly follows and blends together well in the aftertaste. A pretty smooth mouthfeel.

Black throughout, moderately substantial and heavy-looking body, with a small though persistent dark brown head. This leaves dots of stick down the glass. Pretty and appropriate.

In both aroma and flavor, this one really shines as it nears room temperature. Inititally, this smells of mild roast and just a hint of mint. But as it warms, it really opens up nicely: Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies, mild roast, some vanilla character, and chocolate. Very nice.

The flavor too is incredibly nice and is best at room temperature. At it's coldest temperature, there's a strange bitterness, but that quickly goes away after warming. Again, the Thin Mints and Andes Mints character shines, along with some chocoate, roast, vanilla, and graham cracker. Exceptional flavor.

Surprisingly more minty than I had imagined it would be, having aged it for two years. Very, very little head (less than a centimeter), but decent carbonation and a clean malty flavor which hides the alcohol content (9.6%) well. Nicely reminiscent of Andes mints... I honestly thought this would be a very gimmicky beer, but this turned out quite delicious.

Thanks to Fry, er, I mean Tyrsis for hooking me up on this trade! Mint chocolate is my favorite ice cream, and I like stouts, and I liked pouring creme brulee from Southern tier on ice cream, so this sounded like it was up my alley.

Pours out very dark brown, thin beige head on the top of the beer, no more than 1/4". Didn't do a whole lot in terms of lace or retention. Aroma, nicely minty, not heavy handed with it, ample chocolate aroma as well, its dark and bitter chocolate in the aroma (and taste).

Taste, it was a little different, took a second to get used to, but ultimately my mouth got used to drinking a high alcohol chocolate stout with a definite wintergreen mint type of presence to it. Was actually kinda dry without a ton of sweetness, I was expecting ice cream type sweetness, but this was very dark chocolate I suspect that lends itself moreso to being dry and bitter moreso than sweet. The body of the beer was just a tad thinner than I think would be ideal for it. Very minor complaint, if you can even count it as being such a thing. Good roasted malt presence minimized slightly by the mint chocolate. Slightly more bitter than expected, who knows, maybe Stone still kills it with the hops even in this beer, or maybe its really a big contribution from the dark bitter chocolate and malt.

Totally wouldn't mind if they made this every year. They should. Hire Ken Schmidt already and make this year round. Same with that Kona one he did.

Poured into a tulip glass deep black with a thick brown head. Great lacing all the way down the glass. Scent is strong of mints and chocolate malts. I almost also sense a marshmellow scent as well. The taste lives up to the name, it's mint and chocolate. There's a slight hint of hop bitterness. The body is thick as it should be, but alcohol burn is a little high. Overall: I really wish they'd make more of this.

Flavor: The mint is there at a nice level: fairly obvious but not overpowering the rich, dark roasted malts or even the notes of dark chocolate and hints of dark, dried fruits. Bitter dark chocolate, light spearmint and faint coffee in the mildly bitter finish. Given the mint and other flavor components, this has excellent bitter/sweet balance.

Feel: Full, smooth body with light carbonation and light warming. A faint bite from the mint and alcohol.

Overall: Perhaps not as good as I was hoping for from Stone, but given that this is a chocolate mint RIS it is certainly well done and roughly as expected. The high ABV is well hidden. Although the mint treatment was conservative, I’d probably like even less in an ale as good as the base Stone RIS.

S- RIch dark cocoa, earthy wood chips, heavy roasted malt, crisp mint, but the malts and dark chocolate my goodness. So bold and rich. I wish I poured this in a tulip, it just opened up so well.

T- Palate follows the nose. Lots of rich dark/bittersweet malt, dark chocolate/cocoa, some light dry hop, mint on the finish along with a subtle alcohol kick. This came off really "whole and earthy" on the taste.

MF- Medium-heavy sticky body, light-crisp carbonation, almost sharp on the tongue before it opens. The flavor sticks the more you sip. Lots of warming finish too.

O- Fantastic. This was everything I hoped for. Very original and bold. Just about sold out on the same day at my work, and I don't know how much distributors have to offer, so jump on this gem before it's gone.

Very dark brown, as dark as any imperial stout would be proud to be, this big-looking brew develops a one finger tall cap of creamy brown head that stays almost a finger tall for the entirety of the session and leaves good lace in its wake.
A firm roast comes from a strong malt backbone, more than adequate, which also imparts notes of barley in the nose. The mint comes on nicely and sticks with it, a soft sort of peppermint but natural, not candied. A little more chocolate would do for the overall effect, but it's very good nonetheless.
This is a very strong stout with lots of goodness. Chocolate comes out a bit, but mint is just a flash up front before going roasty and a flash again into the finish. For this to work as well as it should, this beer has an excellent base but the secondaries here are too understated (not something I ever thought I'd say about Stone). That doesn't take away too much from a great stout, though.
Thick, chewy and creamy in a big, chunky body, the mouthfeel isn't holding back. The big malts provide plenty to work with and it goes silky with just a little edge into semi-dry as it goes to the finish.